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Long Tressed to Impress

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By Bally
Cell: 222-8018
website address: www.hairbybally.com

Story Created:
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:42 PM ECT

Story Updated:
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:42 PM ECT

Long tresses can be so captivating with the right care, and by that I mean, a proper daily regimen and very importantly, knowing how to style your mane to keep your look interesting and diverse. Long hair is more susceptible to environmental damage (exposure to the sun, chlorine in our bath water and the like), as well as chemical and mechanical damage (for instance brushing, blow drying and flat ironing). This is so as most of its lengths are "aged" hair, remember your hair on average grows approximately half inch per month, so if you were ever curious of the age of your hair, measure the length and it would then be easy for you to estimate its age.

Twice a week is sufficient for washing long hair as it (long hair) does not need to be shampooed as often as shorter hair. In fact, if you wash your long hair too often your scalp will produce more sebum (oil) leaving you with greasier looking hair. If you are used to washing your hair every day it may take a couple of weeks to slow down the production of sebum so your hair won't rely on those daily washes that dry out your length. While you may want to hold on to as much length as you can, it is useless to keep the split ends. A couple of things to note about split ends are 1) they cannot be mended, not even with the best of products; 2) they contribute to frizziness and 3) if left at the ends of hair they continue to travel up the strands, splitting more of the cuticle. So to maintain hair that looks healthy from roots to ends, trim ends as need be, which varies from person to person but can be anywhere between six to eight weeks.

Focus needs to be placed on the midstrands through the ends where the hair would tend to be the most dry and porous and as such, the most damaged. This is not to say that the hair at the scalp is to be neglected, this is the strongest and most alive part of your strands so it's important to keep this area moisturised and hydrated. A natural way to moisturise your locks would be to brush the hair from the scalp to the ends to distribute the sebum from the scalp throughout the lengths.

A lot of people with long hair usually are not fond of the idea of cutting their hair, maybe because they've grown so attached to their lengths over the years, but it creates that extra when you incorporate some layers into your lengths. Layered cuts are actually the best cuts for the "shears-fearful" as it allows them to maintain their overall lengths while creating some movement within their hair; taking them away from the monotone, sometimes drab look a long one-length cut can have. To really emphasise their lengths as well, highlights are one of the best colour choices, giving the illusion of more volume and texture and can even visually lengthen the hair, depending on placement.

Long hair allows you the most options when it comes to styling, you can virtually do anything with it. With a group of siblings as popular as the Kardashian sisters, it's no surprise that what's trending in hair right now is everything these girls do with their fabulous lengths. For one thing, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe all rock the straight, but not pin-straight finish and also the beachy waves. A very simple style to achieve on your own with the use of a curling iron, ideally a 1 ½" to 2" barrel iron — the bigger the barrel, the looser the wave or curl - so choose depending on the desired end result. Another style worn so elegantly chic by the trio, is the sleek chignon and ponytail, suitable for a night out, or any event which you want to exude that touch of class with your hair. You can place your bun or pony high on your crown or low in your nape area depending on your preference. To achieve the sleekest and smoothest finish, you may need to pre flat iron your hair (dependent on your hair's texture of course), as well as utilize gels and hairsprays to keep strands in place with no flyaways or frizz.